Opinion: Party planning - The Alfred offers students wise advice for a night out

Opinion: Party planning - The Alfred offers students wise advice for a night out

Aug 1, 2013

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Be
polite, wear clean undies, and look both ways before crossing the road.

If
that sounds familiar, someone in your life probably gave you some good advice.

But
not everyone is lucky enough to hear words of wisdom when they’re needed. So where
can you go to get help?

The
Alfred hospital in Melbourne is stepping up with the offer of good advice for
secondary school students navigating the party scene.

The
hospital has developed a program where students can spend time with staff in
its Emergency/Trauma Centre, the Intensive Care Unit, Trauma Wards, and Rehab
units.

Dubbed
the P.A.R.T.Y. Program - Prevent Alcohol & Risk-Related Trauma in Youth –
and run by the Alfred’s National Trauma Research Institute (NTRI), it’s a true-to-life
experience that demonstrates how trauma impacts lives.

P.A.R.T.Y. Program Manager Jennifer
Thompson said the number of young people represented in trauma statistics was very
concerning. “However we are confident with further education we can lower that
number,” she said.

The
program is offered free-of-charge to all participating schools, and through a
partnership with the Coca-Cola Australia Foundation the NTRI was able to extend
its reach to some of the more remote areas of Victoria by offering financial
assistance with the costs of travel.

“Youth in these areas face a number of challenges that city based
children tend not to, including higher unemployment and limited access to
public facilities, services and utilities,” said Coca-Cola Australia Foundation
Chair Julie White. “This initiative aligns perfectly with the CCAF’s goal of
inspiring lasting change.”

Spending
time on different hospital wards and seeing the results of injuries up close is
having a huge impact on program participants.

More
than 90 per cent of P.A.R.T.Y. students surveyed after the course said they
would recommend the program to their mates, and 72 per cent said it would
definitely have an impact on the risks they took in the future.

For
more information about the Prevent Alcohol & Risk-Related Trauma in Youth
(P.A.R.T.Y.) Program at The Alfred or Royal Melbourne Hospital, go to http://www.partymelbourne.net.au/